Describe the stasis in the play: where, when, who, what, etc. in a paragraph. The play spans the childhood of the main character, Li’l Bit, during the 1960’s and 1970’s. This is when Li’l Bit is around 11 to 18 years old. The main characters include Li’l Bit, her Uncle Peck, her mother, grandmother, grandfather, Aunt Mary (Uncle Peck’s wife), and a few of Li’l Bit’s classmates. The play is set in Maryland, with parts in South Carolina, where Uncle Peck lived for a while. Li’l Bit narrates the story of her childhood, focusing on her Uncle Peck and how he taught her “how to drive”.
What is the intrusion? I believe the intrusion is when we first get a glimpse into Uncle Peck and Li’l Bit’s inappropriate relationship fairly close to the beginning of the play. Though we do not entirely know that Peck is Li’l Bit’s uncle until about four pages in when she references him as her uncle. This sets up the rest of the play and describes the main issue that Li’l Bit deals with through the entirety of the play.
What is the unique factor? This is the day that Li’l Bit tells us her story of how she learned to drive, but also how she was sexually abused by her uncle when she was no more than eleven years old.
What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play? We want to know what happens between Uncle Peck and Li’l Bit. Additionally, I believe the reader would want to know if Uncle Peck was ever abused as a child, as sexual abuse is a repetitive behavior and those abused typically become abusers in their adult lives. By the end of the play, we see that after Li’l Bit completely denies Uncle Peck and tells him they can no longer continue their relationship, Uncle Peck drinks himself to death. We never know if Uncle Peck, himself, was abused but Li’l Bit insinuates she believes he was by saying she would ask him, “Who did it to you”?
Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it. Clearly, the first type of exposition when only one character knows would be that Uncle Peck abused Li’l Bit. Later she realizes what has happened to her and believes the same thing happened to him when he was young. Additionally, we find out that Aunt Mary, Uncle Peck’s wife, was not completely in the dark about the situation and knew what was going on. The next type of exposition, when all characters know something, would be that everyone knows that Uncle Peck and Li’l Bit have a close relationship. When Li’l Bit and her family are all around the dinner table and they start to make fun of her, she runs out and Peck follows her to calm her down. Even Aunt Mary admits that Peck is so good with Li’l Bit when she gets riled up. Later, we learn just how close Uncle Peck and Li’l Bit are and why he is “so good” with her.
Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be. During most of the play, it seems as though Li’l Bit never refuses Uncle Peck and he takes that as her giving consent. However, it isn’t until the end when we learn the first time they were together, she was only eleven and never gave consent. I believe this is the most theatrical scene because it truly portrays Uncle Peck as the disgusting pedophile he really is. It shows how their relationship even started.
List some of the themes of the play. Some themes would be sexual abuse, family, addiction, innocence, scandal, and growing up.
Choose the character of Li'l Bit in the show and articulate what she wants and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of her getting what she wants? At the beginning of the play, it seems that Li’l Bit is accepting of her relationship with Uncle Peck and wants it to continue. She likes being the one to get him away from drinking and I think he makes her feel older and free. He gives her the opportunity to drive, to drink, and to explore her sexuality. These types of activities, while toxic, have a way of drawing people in. Later, after she leaves for college, her wants change and she realizes her relationship with Peck is wrong and that people would get hurt, specifically her Aunt Mary. She wants to cut ties with her uncle. Lastly, at the end of the play, she mentions wanting to ask Peck how he was abused and wants to understand his history, though he has passed away and this is not possible. A clear obstacle she faces with herself is trying to understand if her relationship with her uncle is right or wrong. I think at some points during the play she thinks it feels good so it must be right, though we see once she goes to college, she knows her relationship is wrong. Peck keeps sending her gifts counting down the days until her 18th birthday and she realizes he does this because once she turns 18, the crime of him being with her becomes less severe. She has an obstacle with her uncle who wants her so bad, though at times she rejects him because she knows it is wrong. She has obstacles with groups of people, such as her family, when they are all making fun of her and her body. Her obstacles with society can be illustrated when her classmates make fun of her for developing early. I do not believe we see any obstacle with fate, though we could say her inability to talk to her uncle after he’s passed could be an obstacle against God. He never gave her answers for why he did what he did.
Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play. Some possible images could be Peck’s car keys. Every time Peck and Li’l Bit “go for a drive,” he abuses her, which she doesn’t realize until much later in her life. The title is a mask, just as how Peck hides his relationship with his niece by saying he is teaching her to drive. While Peck did, in fact, teach her to drive, he did so much more to her. Another image could be the engagement ring. This shows that while Peck abused Li’l Bit, he was infatuated with her and did have strong feelings for her. Lastly, we could say the champagne is an image. It shows how Peck took advantage of Li’l Bit and showed how Peck drove himself to death (though alcohol).
Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play. This play clearly displays a very dysfunctional family. The grandmother and grandfather do not have a healthy relationship. Li’l Bit’s father has run off. Her closest thing to a dad is her abusive Uncle Peck who has become infatuated and addicted to her. Uncle Peck and Aunt Mary, while look like a happy couple on the outside, have issues as he is interested in his niece and not Aunt Mary. The family makes fun of Li’l Bit for developing early, just as her classmates do, which drives Li’l Bit closer and closer to her uncle, who marvels at her body and makes her feel beautiful. Overall, this family is twisted and has too many issues to count.
The play spans the childhood of the main character, Li’l Bit, during the 1960’s and 1970’s. This is when Li’l Bit is around 11 to 18 years old. The main characters include Li’l Bit, her Uncle Peck, her mother, grandmother, grandfather, Aunt Mary (Uncle Peck’s wife), and a few of Li’l Bit’s classmates. The play is set in Maryland, with parts in South Carolina, where Uncle Peck lived for a while. Li’l Bit narrates the story of her childhood, focusing on her Uncle Peck and how he taught her “how to drive”.
What is the intrusion?
I believe the intrusion is when we first get a glimpse into Uncle Peck and Li’l Bit’s inappropriate relationship fairly close to the beginning of the play. Though we do not entirely know that Peck is Li’l Bit’s uncle until about four pages in when she references him as her uncle. This sets up the rest of the play and describes the main issue that Li’l Bit deals with through the entirety of the play.
What is the unique factor?
This is the day that Li’l Bit tells us her story of how she learned to drive, but also how she was sexually abused by her uncle when she was no more than eleven years old.
What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
We want to know what happens between Uncle Peck and Li’l Bit. Additionally, I believe the reader would want to know if Uncle Peck was ever abused as a child, as sexual abuse is a repetitive behavior and those abused typically become abusers in their adult lives. By the end of the play, we see that after Li’l Bit completely denies Uncle Peck and tells him they can no longer continue their relationship, Uncle Peck drinks himself to death. We never know if Uncle Peck, himself, was abused but Li’l Bit insinuates she believes he was by saying she would ask him, “Who did it to you”?
Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it.
Clearly, the first type of exposition when only one character knows would be that Uncle Peck abused Li’l Bit. Later she realizes what has happened to her and believes the same thing happened to him when he was young. Additionally, we find out that Aunt Mary, Uncle Peck’s wife, was not completely in the dark about the situation and knew what was going on. The next type of exposition, when all characters know something, would be that everyone knows that Uncle Peck and Li’l Bit have a close relationship. When Li’l Bit and her family are all around the dinner table and they start to make fun of her, she runs out and Peck follows her to calm her down. Even Aunt Mary admits that Peck is so good with Li’l Bit when she gets riled up. Later, we learn just how close Uncle Peck and Li’l Bit are and why he is “so good” with her.
Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be.
During most of the play, it seems as though Li’l Bit never refuses Uncle Peck and he takes that as her giving consent. However, it isn’t until the end when we learn the first time they were together, she was only eleven and never gave consent. I believe this is the most theatrical scene because it truly portrays Uncle Peck as the disgusting pedophile he really is. It shows how their relationship even started.
List some of the themes of the play.
Some themes would be sexual abuse, family, addiction, innocence, scandal, and growing up.
Choose the character of Li'l Bit in the show and articulate what she wants and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of her getting what she wants?
At the beginning of the play, it seems that Li’l Bit is accepting of her relationship with Uncle Peck and wants it to continue. She likes being the one to get him away from drinking and I think he makes her feel older and free. He gives her the opportunity to drive, to drink, and to explore her sexuality. These types of activities, while toxic, have a way of drawing people in. Later, after she leaves for college, her wants change and she realizes her relationship with Peck is wrong and that people would get hurt, specifically her Aunt Mary. She wants to cut ties with her uncle. Lastly, at the end of the play, she mentions wanting to ask Peck how he was abused and wants to understand his history, though he has passed away and this is not possible. A clear obstacle she faces with herself is trying to understand if her relationship with her uncle is right or wrong. I think at some points during the play she thinks it feels good so it must be right, though we see once she goes to college, she knows her relationship is wrong. Peck keeps sending her gifts counting down the days until her 18th birthday and she realizes he does this because once she turns 18, the crime of him being with her becomes less severe. She has an obstacle with her uncle who wants her so bad, though at times she rejects him because she knows it is wrong. She has obstacles with groups of people, such as her family, when they are all making fun of her and her body. Her obstacles with society can be illustrated when her classmates make fun of her for developing early. I do not believe we see any obstacle with fate, though we could say her inability to talk to her uncle after he’s passed could be an obstacle against God. He never gave her answers for why he did what he did.
Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play.
Some possible images could be Peck’s car keys. Every time Peck and Li’l Bit “go for a drive,” he abuses her, which she doesn’t realize until much later in her life. The title is a mask, just as how Peck hides his relationship with his niece by saying he is teaching her to drive. While Peck did, in fact, teach her to drive, he did so much more to her. Another image could be the engagement ring. This shows that while Peck abused Li’l Bit, he was infatuated with her and did have strong feelings for her. Lastly, we could say the champagne is an image. It shows how Peck took advantage of Li’l Bit and showed how Peck drove himself to death (though alcohol).
Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play.
This play clearly displays a very dysfunctional family. The grandmother and grandfather do not have a healthy relationship. Li’l Bit’s father has run off. Her closest thing to a dad is her abusive Uncle Peck who has become infatuated and addicted to her. Uncle Peck and Aunt Mary, while look like a happy couple on the outside, have issues as he is interested in his niece and not Aunt Mary. The family makes fun of Li’l Bit for developing early, just as her classmates do, which drives Li’l Bit closer and closer to her uncle, who marvels at her body and makes her feel beautiful. Overall, this family is twisted and has too many issues to count.